In a post on his blog, he categorically denied that either of the novels is completed-and, in fact, he says the second of the two, A Dream of Spring, "is not even begun".

"It seems absurd to me that I need to state this".

This is the epitome of a "huge if true" statement, but it also makes a lot of sense. Why would I sit for years on completed novels? Why would my publishers-not just here in the U.S., but all around the world-ever consent to this?

So the series finale of the TV show is coming next week, and Martin still has two books to publish. But once it became clear around Season 5 that the show was surpassing the narrative of the books, Martin provided the showrunners with the broad strokes of his intended ending (which is hopefully handled with more care than last night's episode, "The Bells").

As flagged on Reddit, Barristan Selmy actor Ian McElhinney made a claim during a panel in April at Epic Con in St. Petersburg, Russia, that will have book fans screaming: Supposedly, Martin has finished the last two books of the series, "The Winds of Winter" and "A Dream of Spring".

"I don't know if you know more than me about this, but what I've been told is that George has already written books six and seven", McElhinney said.

There have also never been any reports of Martin agreeing to hold off on publishing his books until the series is over, a deal that sure doesn't sound like something he'd agree to. However, comments from an actor from Game of Thrones who is no longer on the show may reveal a gentleman's agreement that explains the book delay, and signals a very imminent release date for the new books. But he struck an agreement with David [Benioff] and Dan [Weiss], the showrunners of the series, that he would not publish the final two books until the series has completed.

This is a jaw-dropping statement for a number of reasons, the most obvious being the idea that Martin is finally done with the long-awaited The Winds of Winter, which book fans have been eagerly anticipating for nearly eight years now. "So all goes well, in another month or two, we might get books six and seven, and I'm intrigued to know how Barristan, for instance, ends up going through those final two books".